The 411 on One-to-One Computing

This article was very interesting. I guess deep down I am an old fashioned person. I just don't see the need to have kids carry all this hand help technology and have with them 24/7. Just stick with the good old PC that is plugged to the wall. I guess I feel this way because I see so many adults with their blackberries and palm pilots and they are addicted to those things. They don't know how to interact with humans because they are with machines all day long. I saw this special on 60 minutes on how Americans are overworking themselves thanks to technology. You can't even take a vacation or a honeymoon without someone from work being able to get a hold of you because you have a blackberry or iphone. I just don't see the need to start doing the same to our students. It will be their reality when they get out into the real world.

Technology in the Schools: It Does Make a Difference!

To be fair to the technology advocates, I decided to read this article so that I don't have a one sided view about technology. I read this article with an open mind, expecting valid arguments as to why computers are needed in schools, what I found instead was an article that seemed to be arguing for the other side. The article said that technology works in schools and improves learning and test scores if...

• The software used was carefully selected as an educational supplement integrated into a well thought-out program of classroom instruction. Technology was one important tool among many; teachers taught concepts and then used technology to reinforce, enhance, and elaborate on that instruction.

• Teachers received ample training and support in using the software.

• Students had ready access to up-dated software and well-functioning computers.

Honestly how many schools in the US can meet all three requirements adequately to have great technology programs. The biggest problem is that teachers are not trained to use this software and technology. We simply are not trained, but are expected to use them and turn our kids into overnight success stories. In an ideal world technology would work seamlessly in the educational setting, but the reality is most schools are lucky to meet just one of those three criterion's.

Technology in Schools: Some Say It Doesn't Compute!

"children's expectation that learning must be entertaining and their failure to use all their senses or to become active learners;" This is the biggest point the article can be made concerning why technology in schools doesn't compute. I honestly think that students have forgotten or don't want to learn how to think for themselves. They want the information and answer given to them because thinking on their own takes too long and it is not as easy as finding the answer online. I find myself yelling at the kids to think and that they can do it. When they finally do believe me that they can figure out the solution, the expression on their faces is priceless when they discover that they have the brain power to think. Even before the technology issue was a big deal, calculators were as high tech as you got, I made my students work out the problems instead of using the calculator to help them.


It is a shame the amount of money put into upgrading the technology in schools today. Just think what greater good for the schools that money could be used for. Hiring more teachers to make the classrooms less crowded, hiring SPED help and resources, improving the PE curriculum to combat the obesity issue. Purchase better and updated textbooks. the list could go on and on, but you get the point. The money spent on upgrading the technology can be put to better use.

Put an End to Plagiarism in Your Classroom

I remember reading and hearing about the Piper case. I remember being outrage for the teacher. I don't know if I would have resigned, but I would not have changed the kids grades. I have flunked a student for plagiarizing a project. I talked to them about plagiarizing before the assignment and I remember the student asking me in the middle of the project if it was okay to copy and paste information and I told him no. He ended up copying his entire report down to the graphic that was on the website. The only original things he had on his report was the title (he spelled it wrong), and his name at the end of the report. He did not deny it when I confronted him about it. He didn't even care. He was too lazy to do the work and felt that the assignment was not a priority for him. I liked the fact that the article gave ideas on how to prevent plagiarism, but I fear that in the fast pace, quick answer world we live in, we are going to more and more students who plagiarize and find tricky ways of doing it.

Author Says Technology Brings False Promises to Schools.

I think I am in love with Todd Oppenheimer. I mean I want him, but only for his mind. This man is a genius and a great thinker. He makes absolutely perfect sense when he that that "current emphasis on technology use in schools drains resources from other subjects and prevents students from developing critical and creative thinking skills." I don't mind using technology in the classroom, but the amount of it is overwhelming. This past year I had three equipment magically appear in my room. No instruction was given, no directions, just here you go use them! I ended putting them back in their packaging because they were taking up too much space on my desk. This summer I signed up for four technology courses beside the classes for my field. I feel like if the district is spending all of this money on technology, then I have an obligation to use it. I know that next year it is going to be mandatory that all the educators have a blackboard. It doesn't matter what level they teach or what they teach. I used blackboard a little this past school year, but I have to get more training on it because the training the district gave us was not enough. And when they train you all the information is overwhelming because they throw all this information at you all at once and you are to take it and apply it immediately in the classroom.

I am curious to see how much money my district spends on technology each year. It seems that each year we get a new "toy" that we get three hours of training and then expected to use it proficiently in the classroom. Oppenheimer was right when he said that school-wide investments should not be made before they are absolutely certain that results will match the salesman's hype. A good example when my husband's school decided that it would be a great idea to get all the students a palm pilot to help them remember their homework and keep them on track. Lets just say with the amount of broken and lost palm pilots, they could have used the money and invested in their reading programs. Needless to the say, the palm pilots were not back the next year.

Another genius thing Oppenheimer said was that students can also become victims of "commercial novelties...whose ability to reason, to listen, to feel empathy, among other things, quite literally is flickering." I notice more and more that I have to entertain my students or I loose them. Getting them to come up with their own answers and solutions is getting more and more difficult. My biggest complain about my students is that they don't think, or won't think for themselves. They want the answers given to them. Thinking on their own is way too hard for them, because the are use to googling everything and getting instant answers.

Virtual High Schools: The High Schools of the Future?

I know that this article list a whole bunch of advantages of having virtual high schools, and talks about successful programs, but the idea of virtual schools doesn't sit well with me. Maybe it is because I feel that real teachers are going to be useless and students will just be taught by computers and computers only. I truly believe that you cannot replace learning from a real life human and the best way to do that is face to face. I think about the the numerous class discussions I have had with my students and how they fed off each other. Yes you can have discussions online, but it is not the same. You can't easily feed off a comment someone made. Also written words are sometimes misunderstood. You can't tell the tone of a person from what they have written, and sometimes tones of voice carry the conversation.

I do understand that virtual classrooms offer opportunities that some students might not have had. They have the ability to take courses that might not be offered at a regular high school. But you have to remember that school is not all about content learning, but also the social education. If everyone stayed at home, when and how will they learn to social interaction.

Blue Nowwhwere #2

One of the things that scares me about the Blue Nowhere is that it can be a true story. The author acknowledges at the end of the book that this might be our new reality. It is scary for me to think that some people have the power to enter other's lives and assimilate themselves quiet seamlessly. It is scary how Phate and Wyatt could make up their pasts, create new records of themselves, be whoever they want to be and no one would be the wiser. I was so surprised to find out that Wyatt made up the letters from his father and that he did not have a brother. I thought it was all real. What would have happened if he did not have the records from his youth to prove that he made up his past. I think about it and I don't fault him for making up the type of family that he did. There are so many kids out there that would love to the opportunity to change their lives, remake their parents into better people.

Phate was scary the way he worked his way into the lives of his victims. How he would make himself look like almost anyone and gather the information he needed to worm in his into their lives and then kill them. Even the little girl did not realize that the man that was picking her up was not her uncle. I hope that I would not be so easily fooled. But I guess if you haven't seen someone in a long time, or just met someone briefly you don't want to seem rude and not act like you don't know them. I know that I am guilty of carry on a conversation with someone I barely remember, but they remembered me and I felt bad that I did not even know their name.

I don't want to have my guard up all the time, but I don't know... I have to say that I have acquired more knowledge about the computer world from this book than anything else. I just never thought much about that side of things. I never thought about hacking, or using computers to hurt each other.